HOUSTON – Dereon Tayronne Kelley, 22, of Bryan, has been ordered to prison following his convictions on all counts for communicating a bomb threat to an academic institution, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today. The verdict was returned Wednesday, April 10, 2013, after two days of trial and approximately one hour of deliberation.

Today, U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes, who presided over the trial, handed Kelley a sentence of 33 months. He was further ordered to pay a $300 fine and pay $15,548.93 in restitution. Kelley will also be required to serve a term of three years of supervised release following completion of the prison term.

Kelley was accused of three counts of using the Internet to convey a false threat involving an explosive device in order to intimidate individuals at Texas State University (TSU).

According to evidence and testimony presented in court, Kelley used his cell phone and “hacked” into his former girlfriend’s Yahoo email account and sent three separate emails threatening to bomb the Admission’s Office at Texas State University. Kelley’s girlfriend was a former student at TSU.

The defense attempted to convince the jury that the crime was committed by some other person. However, this assertion was contradicted by the email header and cell phone service provider records.

Kelley will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The intensive investigation was initiated by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) - College Station Resident Agency, working together with the Texas A&M University Police Department. The JTTF is comprised of the FBI, Bryan Police Department, Texas A&M University Police Department, College Station Police Department, Brazos County Sheriff’s Office, the United States Secret Service and Waller County Sheriff’s Office.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney S. Mark McIntyre and Craig Feazel.